Maybe I am entering this thread late and have been bypassed by the opportunity to express anything relevant, but I wanted to say something anyways. I agree with Bren in a way, dishonesty is a poor sales tactic and should be exploited if possible. However, I think than rather then pitching a bunch of bunkum he was just trying to make a connection with you based on similar interests. He knew you weren't there for advice on home theater components and wasn't trying to give you any. He was obviously interested for reasons other than monetary, and got in over his head quickly.
So he wasn't humble enough to admit it(we all know you have NEVER agreed to avoid embarrassment) and tell you he wasn't as 'audiophile' as you. I have done the same thing on several occaisons pertaining to various topics. Not becuase I felt I 'had to talk out of my a$$' but because I wanted to make the other person feel as if we were relating, and give the conversation validity. I know I would be insulted if some guy came on a Dell message board and vaunted about the time he was talking to an 'idiot' who didn't know the difference between a computer processer equipped with Hyper Threading as opposed to an AMD based chip without it. Intelligence is not determined by an indivuals knowledge of one or more subjects, it is determined by the aptitude for obtaining and comprehending knowledge. So, this person is not an 'idiot' because he didn't know the professional term of the number of channels in a home theater system or hasn't heard about a niche' speaker company of whom Best Buy has no affiliation with. Instead, you are an elitist and separatist who uses the guise of speaker knowledge to exert artificial superiority over those who you embody as past or present threats to your personal identity; or lack thereof. Insecurity is simple to identify when presented so discernibly, a facile denial will only corroborate my denunciation.

Instead, you are an elitist and separatist who uses the guise of speaker knowledge to exert artificial superiority over those who you embody as past or present threats to your personal identity; or lack thereof. Insecurity is simple to identify when presented so discernibly, a facile denial will only corroborate my denunciation.

This psychoanalytical deduction is so cliche, it's laughable.

Is there really anything wrong with a customer not being interested in bonding with a store employee? Is there really anything wrong with said customer being annoyed with the employee who is trying to make a superficial connection with him? Is there really anything wrong with sharing the story with others -- many of whom appreciated it and did not choose to chastize the storyteller for his reaction?

I suppose sharing a story on a public forum does tacitly invice criticism, but the extent to which people have chosen to share their criticism frankly astounds me. There are many different personalities in the world. Some people choose to bend over backwards to avoid stepping on other people's toes. Other people are comfortable enough in their own skin not to be second-guessing their actions and opinions and how they affect others every waking minute of the day.

Personally, I'm glad both kinds of people exist.

There is enough good in the worst of us and enough bad in the best of us that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us.

_________________________
"I wish I had documented more…" said nobody on their death bed, ever.

I'm not one to usually beat a dead horse but seeing as how I got a stick in my hand...

As a sarcastic individual myself, I can appreciate his typed banter. There are certain times you don't exercise such criticism and sarcasm. Or if you do, you do it in a less bullying manner. Having worked at BB (although it was only for two weeks) and now having my bro and his best friend work at the local BB I understand the type of training these young workers usually get. I've done my damndest to teach my bro and his friend about audio/video and they probably only know about 1/10th of what I know. Even still, they have both heard of Axiom! My point is all you really get are product sheets and are told to sell Monster cables.

I understand that these kids should take it upon themselves to do a little research on their respective fields but kids nowadays are lazy (except for me of course). Fact is, you can't EXPECT the same type of knowledge from a kid who is just working after school and on weekends to know anything other than what his (also underqualified) boss tells him. I have no problem with Bren, he is a very smart guy who seems to have alot of knowledge and exposure to things that I have the slightest idea about. That still doesn't give him the right to belittle an unknowledged and probably intimidated kid.

The funny thing here is, I didn't berate the kid. I could have. I didn't. Instead I had my own private fun... you have to make your own fun in life. I could have thrown on my Spock ears and gotten into a big, long drawn out conversation with him, bragged about my r1Pp1n' s3tUp. But, I didn't... all I wanted was a cable. I got a laugh, but not a cable.

By the way, in the end, I just got tired of Noel Lee's absolute stranglehold on the electronics store market, bought a couple of F-connector to RCA adapters and used 75ohm low loss RG59. Done and done. I may have to tape it to the baseboard until it "learns" how to sit flat, but $6 later, the sub is moved, Monster didn't get my money and all is right with the world.

Some people don't like my sarcasm or wit. That's cool, I don't like lobster... I won't eat your ocean cockroaches, you don't have to laugh in the same spots I do.